Perfect World
by SanrilTsukina
Summary: 'The Guardian leaned down and whispered in her ear; "I need you to do something for me." "Anything." "I need you to get rid of Axel for me." And then the whole world shattered.'
1. Prologue

Hey everybody! It's time for a Kingdom Hearts fanfic! Hopefully it's going to be pretty epic. But I'll let what ever fans I get help me decide that.

Disclaimer: I, SanrilTsukina, do not own the Kingdom Hearts or Kingdom Hearts 2 characters, or story line, or any of the characters connecting to it from other Disney and Final Fantasy stories.

**Prologue**

A little girl sat crying alongside a small river. She cried, letting her tears join the river, disturbing the dark image of her reflection. Her family was dead. Killed by a gang. There was nothing left for her. She cradled the small black gun in her hands. Even though she was only five years old, she knew what this little thing could do.

Her dark reflection quivered, drawing her attention to the water, and away from the small gun. Her reflection got darker and darker, until it was completely black, and the eyes glowed bright yellow. She set the gun down and reached out to touch it, and a small black hand reached out and grabbed her fingers. She gasped, but did not pull away. Slowly the small creature pulled itself from the water. It carefully crawled into her lap. It was so tiny, she could hold it in one hand.

She pulled it up to her face to look into its golden eyes. It stared back into her green eyes. The soaking creature then sneezed in her face with an adorable "achoo." She laughed, and then hugged the small creature. It held her back.

"We'll be together…forever…"

And thus, the first heartless was born from the hatred and sorrow of one little girl…

* * *

Demyx sat up with a start, to find himself in a large grassy field that had many blooming flowers that accented the green hills.

"What happened? Where am I? L-last thing I remember I was defeated by…by…?" he struggled to think of who'd just destroyed him.

"Hello." A sweet voice made him look up into a pair of bright green eyes. That's when he noticed the other members of the Organization were standing around him; Marluxia, Zexion, Larxene, Vexen, Lexaeus…

"W-where am I?" he asked, taking the girl's hand as she helped him up. That's when he noticed a man completely clad in white, even his hair was white. Only his eyes were a different color; a golden yellow.

She made an elegant sweep with her arms. "Welcome, Demyx. To a Perfect World."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1—**

"Aikagi, do you really think this is a good idea?" Alina asked her friend as they stared at the ruins of the old Hallow Bastion Castle.

"What are you scared of? Magic? Ghosts? Do you really believe in all that crap?" Aikagi said as she began to scale the fence.

"Well, if you say magic isn't real then how do you explain that keyblade on your back?" the dark-haired girl asked as she fiddled with her sleeve uncomfortably, looking side to side. People weren't allowed to go here anymore, since the unsafe structure was decaying. A group of kids a while back decided to be stupid and explore, and fell through the floors and impaled themselves on the broken ruins below...

"Pft, this thing?" she jerked her chin towards the skeleton-like keyblade on her back, that belonged to her grandfather, who'd been the previous keyblade wielder after some guy who's name stared with an 'S'. "It's not _magical_. Just a piece of junk. Worthless."

"Then why do you keep it?"

Aikagi didn't respond, as she dropped to the ground on the other side of the tall fence. She pushed her dirty-blonde bangs out of her face. The rest of her hair was safely pulled back into a messy bun, with a few braided strands hanging from it. "Well? Are you coming or not?" she asked putting her hands on her hips.

Alina sighed, pulling her brown, black-tipped hair into a ponytail before she began scaling the fence. "If we get in trouble, I'm not taking the blame. _And_ if we get killed it's on your conscious," she said dropping to the other side.

"We aren't gonna die," Aikagi said as she made her way to the castle. "And we aren't going to get caught. Nothing will happen to us."

Alina shook her head. "I hope you're right…"

Once they stood in front of the giant castle doors, Alina was getting even more fidgety.

"I reeeeally don't think we should be here…"

"Oh, suck it up," Aikagi said, playfully elbowing her friend in the ribs. The two girls had been like sisters ever since they'd met. Neither Aikagi or Alina having had good family lives, the girls bonded instantly. Eventually, Aikagi's grandparents had adopted the both of them. Sadly, her grandfather had passed away almost a year ago, leaving his sickly wife to take care of them. And leaving his strange keyblade to his granddaughter.

"Come on, lets go in," Aikagi said pushing on the door, which creaked open, dangling by one hinge.

"No, lets not…Aikagi..!" Alina complained, running to catch up with Aikagi, who was already inside.

"This place is so cool!" Aikagi said, letting her voice echo.

"More like creepy…"

They explored the empty castle, every step puffing dust off of the floor and leaving small tracks along the way. Eventually they found a large throne room.

"Wow, biggest room yet," Aikagi said, looking up at the ceiling. She looked back down when Alina's shaking hands found her sleeve and began to tug. "What?"

"Th-there's a skeleton over there…!" she said pointing to the throne.

She walked closer, dragging the petrified girl along with her, to get a better look at the corpse on the big chair.

It was a woman, dressed in a black and purple robe. A hat on her head made it seem as though she had two large horns. Skin still stuck to the woman's corpse, clinging to her bones. It had a green tinge. In her right hand she held a staff; in her left, a misty looking orb.

"Can we leave please…?" Alina whispered, scared, almost as if she thought she might wake the dead woman.

Aikagi groaned. "Fine." They turned and were just at the door when they heard a small crack, and something bounced onto the floor. Both of them stopped walking, listening to the rumbling that got closer. They watched as the misty-white ball rolled past them, hitting the door and rolling back to a stop between them.

They looked at each other slowly, and then turned to look at the mummy.

One bonny finger curled back towards her, the others balled up, as if she was calling them closer.

"Well that's creepy." Aikagi said.

"I-I think she wants us to leave…!"

Aikagi started walking back towards the dead woman. "No… it's more like… she wants to show us something…"

"Aikagi, please..!" Alina rubbed her arms like she was cold.

Aikagi reached out to touch the green finger.

"Aikagi..!" Alina screamed, running to stop the girl.

The floor gave out from under them.

Both girls hit the floor with a loud 'thwump!'

"I told you we shouldn't have come here…" Alina said rubbing her back side.

"Yeah, yeah, what ever…" Aikagi muttered. She looked up at the dark ceiling. "Well, the floor didn't just collapse…"

"A trap door?"

"Probably…" she pulled out a match and ran it along the floor, lighting up a small portion of the room. "Now we just gotta figure out how to get out of here…"

"What's that..?" Alina said standing up. Aikagi looked over to see something glowing at one corner of the room. She got to her feet, dusting off her pants, and walking over to investigate, Alina close behind.

"I guess her orb fell down with us…" Aikagi walked up and tried to touch the glowing glass object, but Alina grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Remember what happened last time you tried to touch something?"

"It's not like it's gonna eat us if we touch it. We can use it as a light," she said, brushing away Alina's hand and reaching for the ball again.

"But—" Alina was cut off as Aikagi picked up the black ball, and a bright light filled the room, and Aikagi collapsed to the floor and the ball rolled from her fingers.

"Aikagi!" Alina dropped to her knees and shook the unconscious girl. "Aikagi what's wrong?" As she tried to wake her unconscious friend, the glass orb rolled back and bumped into Alina. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she too fell unconscious.

"…a….lina…!...Alina!"

Alina shot up from her unconscious state. "What happened?"

Aikagi sighed. "Good, you're alright."

Alina looked around at the large grassy field they were in. "Where are we?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"No clue," Aikagi said, helping Alina up.

"I thought you said it wouldn't eat us…" Alina muttered.

"…"

They heard music from far away, traveling on the light, pleasant summer breeze. It sounded like…

"A guitar?"

Aikagi shrugged. "Let's head that way and see."

They followed the music until they found someone sitting at the base of one of the rolling hills, strumming on the weirdest shaped guitar they'd ever seen.

He noticed them before they had a chance to start down the opposite hill. He jumped up and ran toward them, waving spastically. Once he reached them he was huffing and puffing at the effort of running up the small hill. His dirty blonde hair was in some sort of strange mohawk-mullet thing, which on anyone else, would have looked weird, but it fit him. He straightened up, his blue-green eyes full of joy and curiosity as he examined them.

"I was right, you are new people!" he said happily. "It's been a while since there've been newbies here, but I'm surprised she didn't have a party planned and all, she usually does."

The girls shared a confused look.

"Oh sorry, the name's Demyx," he said, holding out his hand for them to shake.

Alina reluctantly took his hand and shook it, keeping her other hand latched painfully to Aikagi's arm. "Alina…"

"Aikagi…" she said crossing her arms, refusing to take Demyx's hand. He gave her a puzzled look then just shrugged.

"Anyway, we should go see if she has a party ready for you." he said.

"She? She who?" Aikagi asked.

"Hmm? Oh, Aspasia," he said, his voice seeming to caress the name.

"Aspasia?" the girls echoed.

"Yeah, she's kinda like… our caretaker, you could say. Everyone loves her. She's nice, pretty, smart, funny…."

Aikagi raised an eyebrow at Alina, who just shrugged.

"You'll just have to meet her," he said, starting back down the hill. The girls threw each other another look before following.

Demyx grabbed his instrument from where he'd set it at the bottom of the hill.

"What kinda guitar is that?" Aikagi asked.

"This? Oh it's not a guitar, it's a _sitar_," he explained, strumming a few chords.

"That explains the shape kinda…." Aikagi muttered.

"Hmm… it's kind of a long walk… do you guys want a ride?"

"Umm… a ride on what?" Aikagi said, looking around. "There's kind of a vacancy of vehicles."

Demyx's grin was huge and devious, as he lifted his fingers to his mouth, and let out a long, loud whistle.

The girls heard a clicking sound from somewhere behind them, and turned around to see something gray winding around the hills. It almost seemed as if it was swimming through the air. It was flying, yet… had no wings…?

Both girls had huge eyes as the large gray creature came up to them, and nuzzled Demyx with its nose, clicking happily. Demyx laughed.

"This is Sakana," he said, still giggling.

"Holy crap! It's a fricken dolphin!" Aikagi said in disbelief.

Demyx looked at them with a confused look on his face. "What? You've never seen a dolphin before?"

"I've never seen one that could fly through the air! Let alone one that big!" Aikagi said looking at the large aquatic mammal that was as big around as a hippo.

Alina reached out with one hand—the other still gripping Aikagi's sleeve—and gently stroked the creature.

"It…it feels like it's underwater… its skin is wet and slippery," she said. Sakana turned around and nuzzled Alina. The force of the strong animal caused her to fall backwards. Aikagi quickly grabbed and steadied the frail girl.

"Sakana!" Demyx scolded. The dolphin bowed its head guiltily. "You can't be so rough with people!" he shook his finger at the creature, who bowed its head in a sad gesture. "Anyway, so do you guys want a ride?" he asked, returning attention to the girls.

Aikagi gave him a skeptic look. "I think I'd rather wa—alk!"

Demyx didn't give her time to finish, as he grabbed her and hoisted her on top of the massive dolphin. He did the same with Alina, and then jumped up himself, slinging his sitar over his back with the leather strap that was connected to it.

"Let's go!" he said, and the dolphin took off at top speed.

As they went racing by, Aikagi and Alina noticed creatures that shouldn't normally be anywhere near each other were calmly gathered at a small pond.

"What's up with this place?" Aikagi said quietly to Alina, who sat behind her. "It feels like spring, but it's the middle of November, and all of those animals… they're all from different places. And times!" she said referring to the saber-tooth-tiger and the wolly mammoth, who where standing near their non-extinct relatives.

Alina shrugged. "Maybe we can get someone to explain to us," she suggested.

"What are you guys whispering about back there?" Demyx asked. "If you're worried about something, don't. Everything is perfect here."

The girls gave each other a confused look.

"Nothings really perfect." Alina said.

"Oh, but here it is." he said. A few seconds later he said; "We're here!"

The girls looked over his shoulders and saw a huge castle at the top of one of the hills that seemed to be just a bit taller than the ones around it. A few trees and tons of flowers gave a pleasant look about the place; people walked about, or laid lazily in the shade of the trees, seeming to not have a care in the world. There were two fairly large pastures, one full of horses, and another one next to it full of… Chocobos?

The dolphin slowed to a stop near the huge front doors, allowing the teens to hop off.

"Aikagi, this is…" Alina murmured.

"Hallow Bastion Castle…"

"Well, come on," Demyx beckoned, not hearing their small exchange. He walked up the huge doors, and pushed them open, seemingly without effort.

Inside were even more people, although it didn't seem crowded as they walked about the large, open room, going up and down the large stair case, and went in and out of rooms.

"Wow… it seems a lot bigger when there isn't all that ruble in the way," Aikagi mused.

"What?" Demyx asked.

"Oh—nothing," she quickly said. He shrugged.

Suddenly a boy with brown spiky hair came running across the huge expanse of floor, his large shoes slapping on the tiles as he did. People easily avoided him.

"Demyx!" he waved. The mulleted-boy waved lazily back.

"Hey, Sora."

He slid to a stop in front of them, leaning over to catch his breath before crossing one leg over the other and putting his hands behind his head.

"Aspasia's been lookin' for ya," Sora said.

"Where is she?" Demyx asked, his shoulders straightening.

"Library." Only then did the spiky-haired brunette seem to notice the two girls standing behind Demyx. "Who're you guys?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, this is Aikagi and Alina," Demyx explained. "I wanted to introduce them to Aspasia."

"Hi, I'm Sora," he said holding out his fingerless-gloved-hand, a wide grin on his face.

Aikagi reluctantly shook his hand. "Hi…"

"Well, come on, lets go find Aspasia," Demyx said, making his way through the thin crowd. Aikagi followed, Alina desperately clinging to her arm, and Sora following not far behind.

Aikagi looked back at Alina. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

Alina nodded, focusing on her breathing, and not the people around her. She suffered from agoraphobia, or in other words, open spaces and/or large crowds. It wasn't as bad when she was outside in the fresh air, but inside of large rooms, like the one they were in now, made her anxiety peak, especially when there were other people around.

They walked up the stairs, and made several turns down long halls, and up one more flight of stairs and another hall before they made it to a large set of doors.

Demyx pushed the door open just enough for them to get through, and entered the room. Aikagi's and Alina's jaws dropped when they saw the huge-butt library.

The shelves were easily 25 feet tall, and there were about 20 of these, and up a flight of stairs there were even more books that were visible. A few tables here and there decorated the few spaces not taken up by book shelves.

There was a boy with blue-gray hair sitting at a desk, reading a book very intently, not even looking up when the four people came in.

"Hey, Zexy," Demyx said waving to the emo-haired-boy. He made no response. "Oh come on, Zexion, say hi to our new guests," Demyx said, grabbing the book from Zexion. "Hmm, _Alice in Wonderland. _I never pictured you for such a _girly _book, Zexion."

Zexion swiped the book from the mulleted-boy and hit him upside the head with it. "It's a classic." Was all he said before returning to his reading.

"You're so mean…" he turned back to the girls. "Don't mind him, he always does this when he gets a book he really likes," Demyx said, rubbing his head where it had been struck.

"I do the same thing actually," Aikagi muttered.

"Oh, there she is; Aspasia!" Demyx said, not even caring to keep his voice down in the near-empty library.

A girl with black hair was sitting by herself at one of the tables, and looked up at the sound of her name. Her face lit up with a brilliant smile as she closed her book and skipped over them.

"Demyx!" she said, throwing her arms around him. When she let go, her bright green eyes turned to the two girls. "Oh, and who are you?" she asked.

"This is Aikagi and Alina," Demyx said. "I found them out in the fields."

The girl put her hands together in a joyous gesture. "Oh, it's wonderful to have new guests!" She looked over at the far table where a guy with brown hair was sitting quietly reading his book. "Squall, come and say hello!"

He looked up, and closed his book, carrying it with him as he went to the upper portion of the library, not saying a word.

"Oh, he's such a sour-puss," Aspasia said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I think he's mad 'cuz you used his first name," Sora said.

"Oooh…" she pouted. The expression was gone in a flash, replaced by a bright smile. "I wonder if Damien knows you're here."

As if on queue, someone burst through the library doors, flinging them wide open.

"Damien!" Aspasia said happily, running over to the freakishly tall man, and wrapping her arms round his waist.

"Hello there, Aspasia," he said warmly, looking down at her, his snow white hair falling around to frame his pale face.

"We have guests, Damien!" she said, sounding like a small child.

He turned his gaze upward and his yellow-pupil-less eyes towards the strangers. A shiver ran up both Aikagi and Alina's spines. His expression seemed confused for a moment, but then it was replaced as a smile worked its way across his lips. The smile was terrifying.

"So we do."


	3. Chapter 2

Well, it's time for chapter two. I've been in such a Kingdom Hearts mood, and I've been obsessing over this story and how epic it seems in my mind. I just cant stop writing and coming up with new twists and turns. Well, I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

**Chapter 2—**

"Damien, would you mind showing them to their rooms while I get a welcome party together?" Aspasia asked, letting go of the man's waist.

"Why of course," he said, bowing slightly.

"W-we don't need a welcome party," Aikagi said.

"Oh, don't be silly. All of our guests get welcome parties," Aspasia said smiling brightly. "I enjoy putting them together. Well I'll see you tonight then!" she said, exiting the library.

They stayed silent for a moment, before the man in white broke the silence.

"Well, shall I show you to your rooms then?"

"Umm…in a sec…"

"I'll wait outside for you then," he said, closing the large doors behind him.

"… he's… intimidating." Alina said quietly.

"That's the Guardian," Zexion said, setting his book on the desk. "He's… somewhat like the overseer of this place. He pops up out of no where…" Zexion's voice was hushed.

Aikagi raised an eyebrow as she stared at the closed doors.

"Well, come on; let's not keep him waiting all day!" Demyx said, trying to ignore the suddenly uncomfortable air that filled the library and even wiped the smile off of Sora's face.

They turned to go, Demyx leading the way. Zexion grabbed Aikagi's arm.

"And _don't _call him Damian. Just 'Guardian.'" Zexion said in a whisper so quiet Aikagi almost didn't catch it. He let go of her arm and returned to his seat, and quietly began reading his book again.

Leon had observed the whole scene, his eyes never leaving his book. His fist clenched around the arm of the chair.

"This way," the Guardian beckoned as he led the girls down he large hallways. Sora and Demyx had left to go get something to eat.

"How many people live here?" Aikagi wondered out loud as they traveled down the huge hallways.

"Not as many as you'd think," the Guardian said smiling. He stopped at a doorway a moment later, holding out his hand to show them in.

Aikagi raised an eyebrow.

"Forgive me for not opening the door for you, but you must be the one to open it for the room to truly be yours." He said.

Aikagi had half a mind to snap; "We don't plan on _staying_!" but in truth, she had no clue how long they'd be there.

Giving him one last look, she took hold of the door knob, tuning it slowly. When she stepped inside, her jaw dropped. The room literally was the room she'd dreamt of having.

Oak shelves adorned the walls of the large room, full of books and some of her favorite knickknacks, like the figurines that her grandfather had had. Any place there weren't shelves of books, there were swords. EVERYWHERE. Most were for show. Only the ones at the head of her giant canopy bed were for actual use. There also wasn't a single light bulb in the room. The entire place was filled with the gentle glow of candle light, which gave an almost mystical look to the black and maroon bed spread and curtains, and glinted off of the silver accents around the room, including the swords. A shoji screen in the corner helped fill the space.

"Whoa."

Aikagi slowly walked into her new room, taking everything in.

"This place is awesome! It's everything I've dreamed of!" she said, flopping down on the bed.

"Shall we go to your room then?" The Guardian said to Alina.

"Wait—I have my own room?" she asked, her eyes getting wide.

"Why, of course," he said.

Aikagi pushed herself into a sitting position.

"But…I…" Alina pulled at her sleeves nervously. She'd never slept in a room by herself before, as far as she could remember. She'd tried to, but she would often start screaming, night terrors plaguing her sleep, but only when she was in a room by herself. The thought of being alone in a dark room…

"There is nothing to fear in this place," The Guardian said. She just kept looking down in dread. "If it makes you feel any better, your room is just down the hallway. Come." He walked out of Aikagi's room and went three doors down the hall and stopped in front of the fourth door. He held his hand out, beckoning for her to take the door knob.

She reluctantly walked over to him –Aikagi following close behind—and gripped the door knob with a shaking hand.

The room wasn't nearly as extravagant as Aikagi's, but it held a homey atmosphere. It was small, with a large bed (not as big as Aikagi's) taking up most of the room. It also had a large canopy of black lace covering the deep blue and black bed spread, which was barely visible beneath the mass of pillows.

Besides the bed, there wasn't much to the small room except a small wood stove in the corner. But there were books. Lots of them.

Even though Alina's room was smaller, there seemed to be even more books than in Aikagi's room, but there were only two shelves hung on the wall that were clearly over their capacity, leaving the other books to lay in stacks all over the floor, making the walking space minimal.

"You both seem to share a love of books," the Guardian said. The girls nodded numbly as they stared at all of the books. They'd read most of these, and at least read the backs of the others, but had never dreamed of owning them. "You are both welcome to the library as well." He turned to leave, but then looked over his shoulder. "At dusk, everyone will be gathered outside. Please join us." And then he left.

The girls stared at the door for a moment, then looked at each other.

"This place is…strange…" Alina said.

"Yeah, that guy seems to be the strangest thing…" she shivered. "But at least we've got plenty of reading material," she said grinning. Alina returned the smile. Both girls quickly grabbed the first books they could and began reading, a luxury they hardly had a chance to experience back home.

A few hours later, they were still reading when someone burst through the door.

"What are you guys doing?" Sora asked.

They both started at him blankly.

He frowned. "The party? Didn't The Guardian tell you? Its dusk!"

"Do we have to go?" Aikagi whined.

"Yes! The party is for you two!" Sora said.

"Us?" Alina said questioningly.

"Yes, now come on!" he said grabbing both of their wrists, and dragging them out of the room. He managed to keep a hold of them, dragging them all the way down the halls, through the main room and out the huge front doors.

Outside, everything was set up extravagantly; a roofless red tent-type barrier was set up, big enough to hold everyone at the mansion, with paper lanterns strung about, giving the place a magical glow. Tables full of delicious looking food were set up on the edges of the make-shift, outdoor party room.

Aspasia came up to them, with a big grin that lit up her face, making the dark circles under her eyes barely noticeable in the light.

"Do you guys like it?" she asked.

"How'd you guys set this up so fast?" Aikagi asked, staring at the place in wonder.

Aspasia laughed; it was light and musical, as her black hair bobbed at her shoulders with the movement.

"Come on, join the party!" she said.

They mingled for quite some time, enjoying the delicious food and drinks, meeting as many people as anyone could in one night, with more to spare.

Suddenly a tall skinny guy with blazing, spiky red hair came through the crowd.

"So _here's_ the new kids," he said grinning. "You bein a good host, Sora?" he said, wrapping a lanky arm around the brunette's shoulders.

"Of course!" Sora said, shoving him off. "This is Axel," he said to Aikagi.

"Hi," she said. He gave a little saluted 'hello,' then looked at her for a moment.

"Weren't there supposed to be two of you?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's right—," she turned to look behind her but Alina wasn't there. Panic shot through her. "Alina? Alina?!" Aikagi looked franticly, whipping her head from side to side.

"What? What's wrong?" Axel asked.

"Alina's gone!" she said worriedly.

"She'll be fine, there's—," Sora started, but Aikagi interrupted him

"No, no she won't! Alina _cannot _be left alone!"

"Well, there're other people around," Axel said.

"That makes it _worse!_" she said. "Alina hates big crowds like this, especially when she's by herself. She gets terrible panic attacks! She…she…"

Axel laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll look for her."

They quickly set out in search of her, spanning out through the crowds.

At another end of the party, Leon was leaned up against one of the posts that held up the red curtains, reading his book intently, when he heard something.

He looked up from his book, quickly scanning the crowd. He couldn't find the source of the sound in the crowd. It seemed to be coming from…under the table?

Leon walked to the front of the buffet, and knelt down in front of it, moving the table cloth out of the way. Underneath was a girl, and she was crying.

"Hey…" he said quietly. Her head snapped up, and he saw that it was one of the new girls. Her expression reminded him of a scared animal, like a deer or rabbit that had been cornered, her eyes wide, and her entire body shaking.

"Hey," he repeated a bit softer, "What's wrong?" She just kept staring at him, eyes enormously wide. He slowly held out his hand to her. "It's okay… just take a deep breath."

She took in a shaky breath, but her eyes stayed wide, as she kept staring at him, obviously frightened.

"You're fine," Leon said, still keeping his voice soft, so as not to frighten her. "I'll help you find your friend."

She swallowed once before slowly crawling towards him. Just then a group standing near the table burst out in loud bellowing laughter, scaring the poor girl. She latched on to Leon, squeezing her eyes shut. Even though she was so small, the force made Leon fall back onto his hands.

"Wow, Leon. Hitting on the new girls already?"

Leon looked up to see his ex-friend, Siefer, a tall blond with a smug-butt look on his face. Struggling with the girl who clung to him, he got onto his feet, transitioning the girl from his torso to his arm.

"Shut up Siefer, it's not like that," he said gruffly.

Siefer eyed the girl, getting a little to close for her comfort.

"She seems a little small; looks a lot younger than you too; robbing the cradle now, Squall?" he said, the cocky smirk still pasted all over his face.

Leon positioned his body between Siefer and the girl. "Its not like that. She's just scared. And the name is Leon, _Siefer_."

Siefer raised an eyebrow, his smirk twitching downwards. But it quickly returned as he straightened. "Alright, what ever you say. Have fuuuuun~…" He said as he walked off through the crowd.

Suddenly a voice broke through the crowd.

"Alina?! Alina?!" the frantic voice was followed by a girl shoving her way through the crowd. "Alina?! Alina where are you!" the girl's eyes landed on the person closest to Leon. "ALINA!" she rushed over, but slid to a stop when she realized Alina was clinging tightly to the guy they'd seen earlier. "A-Alina?"

Alina's head popped up and she looked over at Aikagi, then up at Leon. She slowly let go of Leon's massively muscley arm and grabbed onto Aikagi's.

"Alina are you okay?" Aikagi asked, hugging the other girl as she shot Leon a questioning glare. He tapped his fingers on the book he'd laid on the table, a bit nervously.

"I'm fine," she said hoarsely. "Thank you," she croaked out at Leon.

He seemed a little surprised. "No problem."

They all turned to look into the crowd when they heard another voice over the crowd calling for Alina.

"Hey! Over here, I found her!" Aikagi said, waving her free arm. Sora's spikey hair traveled through the crowd—stabbing several people in the eye—as he made his way over to them.

"Where was she?" he asked as he pushed through.

"She was next to this guy," Aikagi looked over, but Leon had disappeared. "Where'd he go?"

Sora looked around for a moment, then turned back to the girls. "You okay?" he asked Alina, smiling a warm smile that would make anyone feel a little better.

She managed a smile back. "Mmhmm."

He looked up at Aikagi, rubbing the back of his head. "We should go tell Axel we found her."

Aikagi nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

As they turned to go look for the red-head, Alina noticed the book Leon had had, lying on the table, and grabbed it before they entered the mass of people.

It didn't take long to find Axel in the crowds. Since he was tall, it made his bright red hair even easier to spot amongst the masses.

The party stretched far into the night, and Aikagi and Alina wondered how long the nights were in this place. Axel and Sora introduced them to several people at the party. They all seemed like such good friends, but Sora said he'd only known most of these people a short time. When Aikagi asked when they'd all met, Sora just shrugged, and said, "Don't remember."

Everyone there kept on saying how happy they were that Aikagi and Alina were there, that they didn't get many new visitors these days. Everyone seemed so happy.

Aikagi turned around, getting the feeling that someone was watching her, and saw a small girl with blond hair and white dress staring at them with wide blue eyes, clutching a book in her arms. The girl flipped open the book and leafed through some of the pages, stopping at one. She glanced back up at Aikagi, who smiled and waved awkwardly. The girl slapped her book shut with a start, and disappeared into the mass of people. Aikagi's hand dropped in confusion.

"That was Namine," Sora said.

"Why'd she run off when I waved?" Aikagi wondered.

Sora shrugged, putting his hands behind his head. "She doesn't like to be around other people, and doesn't talk much."

"Much?" Axel butt in. "You mean never."

"Well, she used to!" Sora said, but Axel's attention was already on another conversation. Sora stuck his lower lip out in frustration, then turned back to explain to Aikagi and Alina. "She stopped talking when Kairi left," he said.

"Who was Kairi?"

"I don't remember how they were related, but they were really close. Then one day Kairi left. Me and another guy were best friends with Kairi, so it bugged us quite a bit when she left without saying goodbye, but Namine changed. It was like she lost a part of herself, and just quit talking. She stays to herself these days…" Sora said, staring off into the crowd where Namine had disappeared.

"Are we enjoying the festivities?" A deep voice from behind made them all jump, and spin around. The Guardian was standing right behind them, smiling, hands tucked behind his back. He waited for a response, but the three teens just stared at him, afraid to move. "I heard a bit of a ruckus earlier, was everything all right?" he finally asked.

"Y-yeah, Alina just got lost in the crowd," Sora said, putting on a happy-go-lucky attitude, putting his hands behind his head and shifting his weight from leg to leg.

"My Dear, you cannot get lost in a crowd of your friends," he said, his yellow eyes shifting to Alina.

"These people aren't our friends." Aikagi said, almost snapping it at him. She glanced at Sora, who looked a bit hurt, and sent him an apologetic look.

The Guardian's smile disappeared, but quickly returned. "Well, I hope in time you will come to think of everyone here as your friend. Now, if you will excuse me," he said bowing, before he disappeared back into the crowd.

Everyone seemed to sigh with relief at once.

"That guy has a knack for popping up out of no-where."

They all turned around to see a tall, silver-haired boy standing behind them, thumb in his jean-pocket. Aikagi noticed gray eyes behind his silver hair. They seemed very out-of-place, almost like they weren't supposed to be that color.

"Riku!" Sora said, a bright smile returning to his face.

Sora gave a brief introduction, and mutual 'hellos' were exchanged, and they all talked for a little, before Alina and Aikagi went back to their rooms. Well. Tried to.

"Why is this place so flippen big?!" Aikagi's shouts echoed off of the empty hall walls.

"Well, a lot of people live here, so it has to be big," Alina said.

"They could at least put up some signs or something…" she muttered. "Oh sorry," she said to the person she'd just bumped into around the corner.

He looked down at her with empty yellow eyes, that stood out in great contrast to his tanned skin and silvery hair. He muttered something that sounded like, "Sorry," and continued his slouched walk down the hall.

"He seemed rather sad…" Alina said.

"More like devoid of life…" Aikagi murmured to herself.

They finally found their rooms, which both were clearly labeled with their names.

"Swear to god…" Aikagi practically punched the wall.

Zexion sat alone in the library, a few oil lamps giving the place a beautifully magical glow, along with haunting shadows that flickered with the flames. He set his book down on the desk and took in a deep breath. He gripped his arms and rubbed them, even though he wasn't cold. Walking over to the window, he looked down at the festivities below.

"This world…is so lonely..." he sighed, picking his book back up and sitting down next to one of the lamps.

He flipped to his book mark, and the page caught the light from the flame. Zexion rubbed his eyes and looked at the page again. Just a picture of card soldiers filled the page, like always. He picked up the page and let the light of the candle flow through the paper again, and he watched in amazement as the picture burned away, leaving elegant hand-written notes on the page.

Zexion let the page fall back down, the light of the candle left the back of the page, and the picture returned. He lifted the page again and let the light flood through the paper. And began to read.


End file.
